At Meriter, an interdisciplinary team works together to provide safe, effective pain management options that assist patients to regain their normal level of functioning.

We believe that effective pain management is the responsibility of all clinicians, and that all patients have a right to have their pain assessed and managed effectively.

Rights and Responsibilities

At Meriter Hospital, health care providers:

• Ask patients on initial evaluation and as part of regular assessments about the presence, quality and intensity of pain, using the patient's self report as the primary indicator of pain.
• Respond as soon as possible to reports of pain.
• Work together with the patient and other health care providers to establish a goal for pain relief and develop a plan to achieve that goal.
• Review and modify the plan of care for patients who have unrelieved pain.

At Meriter Hospital, it is the patient's responsibility to:

• Work with their health care team to develop a pain relief plan.
• Realize a pain management plan will be a balance between medications, rest and activity.
• Ask for pain relief medications when pain first begins.
• Report any unrelieved pain.

Interdisciplinary Team

Depending on each patient's needs, the care team may include:

• Nursing staff with expertise in pain management
• Pain management physicians from Advanced Pain Management
• Pharmacy staff
• Physical and Occupational Therapy physicians and staff
• Spine Program physicians and staff
• NewStart physicians and staff
• Anesthesiologists
• Surgeons
• Rheumatologists from UW Health Rheumatology and Arthritis
• Neurologists
• Spiritual Care services

Meriter's Relaxation Channel

If you are a patient at Meriter Hospital, we invite you to view the Relaxation Channel on hospital TV channel 13. This channel provides a continuous stream of relaxing scenery and music to assist you in relieving stress and managing discomfort.

5/5/2008